There are plenty of cool places to eat at in China, but one of the most amazing has to be the Tang Dousheng State Park, also known as Tang Du Zoology. This unique venue spreads over 1,600 square feet and features over 1,500 exotic plants and various animals.

I don’t know about you but I haven’t yet had the chance to dine in a place larger than three NFL football fields, so the Tang Dousheng State Park in Taiyuan, an industrial city about 400km from Beijing, sounds pretty special to me. But it’s not just the size that makes this place stand out from other food joints in China. Inaugurated in 2005, Tang Du Zoology was meant to be an indoor “natural habitat” full of exotic plants, rugged rockery and rare animals, where people could experience fine Chinese cuisine in a wild-like environment. Usually you have to go outside for a breath of fresh air, but in Taiyuan, you have to step inside this amazing restaurant to let your lungs know what they’ve been missing out on. The place also serves wide range of Chinese food styles (Guangdong, Shandong, Sichuan, Anhui) but the food is not the first reason to dine at Tang Dousheng State Park.

If you’ve ever wondered what a restaurant set up in a exotic environment might be like, this is the place you’ve been dreaming about. Tables are set among pockets of lush vegetation, tall trees, craggy rocks and waterfalls, and wild animals like crocodiles and seals as well as colorful birds take care of the entertainment. Another thing that makes Tang Du Zoology a popular eco-oasis away from the dirty, crowded city outside is the pure water system that investors spent millions of Yuan on. To highlight the ecological character of the restaurant, a state of the art filtration system was set up, to make sure the water in which the food is cooked and the drinking water are above standard.

And if the size and natural decor of the Tang Dousheng State Park don’t impress you, then the selection of dishes and the kitchen in which they’re cooked surely will. The kitchen has transparent walls so the diners can glance at the hundreds of chefs as they prepare their food, and to choose what you’re going to have, instead of consulting a menu, a waitress takes you on a walk among huge tanks of seafood where you can actually choose what you want cooked. According to Foodnut.com, the variety of food at Tang Du Zoology is simply “outrageous”.